In response to accusations of plagiarism related to her hit song “Fflowers,” Miley Cyrus has strongly denied claims that she imitated Bruno Mars’ 2012 hit “When I Was Your Man.”
The copyright infringement lawsuit was brought against Cyrus by Tempo Music Investments.
Her legal team has denied the claims, saying the company does not have the legal standing to pursue the lawsuit, according to documents revealed by PEOPLE magazine.
It’s important to note that Tempo Music, as the copyright holder through Philip Lawrence’s catalog, is different from the song’s other co-writers, Ari Levine and Andrew Wyatt.
Cyrus’ attorneys asserted that only individuals with exclusive rights to a piece of music are eligible to sue. They argued that because Tempo was only an assignee of a co-author, it lacked the necessary legal status to commence legal proceedings.
After “Fflowers” was accused of plagiarizing Mars’ ballad, a lawsuit was initiated following observations by fans and critics suggesting similarities between the two songs.
However, Cyrus’ team dismissed the case, claiming that “the assignee has only one co-author who lacks exclusive rights and, therefore, also has no standing to sue for infringement.”
The allegations were made by Tempo Music in a legal case in September, claiming that the “Hannah Montana” star intentionally imitated Mars’ hit song “When I Was Your Man” with his hit single herself, pointing out significant similarities between the two songs.
The lawsuit challenges that the musical elements, including melody and harmony, in “Fflowers” closely mirror those found in Mars’ composition, especially evident in both the verse and chorus.
Furthermore, Tempo claims that the chord sequences found in Cyrus’s score, written in collaboration with Aldae (Gregory Hein) and Michael Pollack, are similar to the chord sequences in Mars’ song.
Some lines in “Fflowers” have similarities to lyrics in “When I Was Your Man”, a song Mars co-wrote with Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine and Andrew Wyatt.
Per Tempo’s lawsuit, “It is undeniable, based on the combination and number of similarities between the two recordings, that Flowers would not exist without ‘When I Was Your Man.'”
The allegations in the legal case point to Cyrus, along with her collaborators Kid Harpoon and Tyler Harper, as well as their record company, claiming they were exposed to Mars’ song, despite “When I Was Your Man” has been easily accessible for several years. across a variety of platforms and formats.
But Tempo Music is aiming to seek unspecified damages and is notably asking for “Fflowers” to be removed from all digital platforms and every physical edition of Cyrus’ “Endless Summer Vacation” album released in 2023.
They are working harder to stop Cyrus from singing the song again.
The legal action was initiated by Tempo Music, the new owner of part of the song’s copyright, and not Mars personally.
According to reports, in 2021, Mars made a deal with Warner Music Group by selling part of its catalog while maintaining majority ownership.
Founded in 2019 with an initial investment of $650 million from Warner and Providence Equity Partners, Tempo specializes in song catalog acquisitions including master recordings and publishing rights.
Tags Bruno Mars, Miley Cyrus